How can you track the status of a tax refund?

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Taxpayers can track the status of a refund using an online tool provided by the Internal Revenue Service through its website; the online resource provides up-to-date information about the status of a return starting 24 hours after a return has been received electronically and 4 weeks after it was sent by mail. Many states also offer similar services online where taxpayers enter personal details to access a return's progress toward being processed.

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For federal tax returns filed individually or through a tax company, taxpayer's need to know the exact amount of the refund, provide a Social Security number and the status which the return was filed under. The service shows when the return was received, processed and when the date for payment is scheduled. Due to the overwhelming number of users after the annual deadline of April 15, the IRS asks that people only check the site once per day. Returns normally take up to 21 days to process.

Some tax companies also provide clients with online tools for checking a tax returns status. These include Intuit's platform, which lets users see when a return was received by the IRS and tracks its status. This service is also available for smartphones by downloading an application from Intuit's website.